Bio

I grew up in the blessed land of Minnesota, then after college I went to work in the flying objects business in northern California. Consequently, my life was subject to a weird nexus of showbiz and politics: in two different states I lived under governors who were in the movie Predator.

Claire Berlinski, Ed., once borrowed my jacket to keep warm on the patio at Momo's bar in San Francisco. To date this is my closest brush with celebrity.


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Mark Wilson
Name:
Mark Wilson
Hometown:
Minnesota, then California
Joined:
May 24, 2010

Recent Comments

Mark Wilson

Palaeologus

It indicates, as Charles Krauthammer notes, that Romney has no ability to defend conservative arguments when it comes to poor Americans. Plugging the holes in the nationwide safety net with taxpayer money is his solution, just as subsidies and Medicaid expansion was his solution in Massachusetts.

Or it indicates that he has no desire to do so. Neither do I.

Conservative arguments for federal policy regarding the poor are #901 on my to-do list. Insert platitude, move on.

Do you expect him to revise welfare reform? · 18 minutes ago

I agree completely.  I wish I could have stated it so clearly in my previous two posts.

Mark Wilson

Stuart Creque

To the extent that part of America's productive capacity has to be directed to containing the effects of multigenerational poverty, that diverts economic activity into waste rather than into investments that leverage future growth.

To the extent that the cycle of multigenerational poverty can be broken in individual families and in local communities, that frees up resources (including human beings) that can contribute to the overall growth and prosperity of the economy.

Yes, agreed, although that last paragraph is pretty overwrought if you're implying that's what I believe.

But what can the federal government do about the cycle at the family level?  I think we share the same long term goals, but these goals cannot be achieved until we get broader conservative consensus in the country.

Practically speaking this issue is not central on my people's minds right now and it does not carry the urgency of Obamacare and the immediate harm the federal government is doing to our economy.  If we don't take care of those top priorities, we won't have a healthy economy tomorrow for today's "very poor" to aspire to join.

Mark Wilson

I think everyone is reading way too much into this.

I interpret the phrase "I'm not concerned about..." in the same sense as when somebody says "this doesn't concern you"; basically, that it's off-topic or irrelevant to the point at hand.  It seems like Romney just wanted to get off the sidetrack and back to his main idea about the middle class, and was merely trying to dismiss the topic. 

I think the vast majority of Americans support the nebulous idea of a "safety net" for the indigent and aren't gonna get real upset if he doesn't spend time figuring out how to fix the social programs for the "very poor".

So unless you want this election to actually be about the very poor and not about the Obamacare and the economy, I say quit needlessly beating up our own guy.

Edited on Feb. 2 at 5:35pm
Mark Wilson

"Ok, I'm locked onto the Ayatollah's compound.  Which one fires missiles?"

Mark Wilson

"You're right. This national debt visualization software would never work in only 2D."

Edited on Feb. 2 at 9:47am
Mark Wilson

Mitt Romney nervously scans the area for "very poor people" despite his insistence that he's "not concerned" about them.

Re: Marbles

Mark Wilson

EJHill

Peter and his wife have five children. My wife and I have four. With that many children, it is not a drive to crazy, just a short putt.

A gimme?

Mark Wilson
Fake John Galt: I tend to see humor in the lefts perspective. In this case since more women ride public transportation we need to accommodate womens needs. On the other hand if more men rode public transportation they would say that we need to accommodate women's needs so they could achieve parity. · 1 hour ago

My first thought as well, except: If more men rode trains than women, instead of accommodating women's needs to entice women to ride more, the progressive solution would be to require an equal number of tickets be sold to women as to men, a la Title IX.  The trains, thus depleted of men, would run even more enormous deficits and require more public funding.

Mark Wilson

Sarah Palin has just gotten way too much uncritical glittering coverage from the fawning media.  It's about time someone tells the other side of the story.  You know, to bring some balance.  Let us know if she has any faults at all.

Mark Wilson

Be nice to him.  He meant to say corpseman (on two separate occasions!).  Wait, I mean, 10,000 people died in a tornado.  Or was it 57 states, one left to go?

Maybe he was just confused because the teleprompter was written in Austrian.

Edited on Jan. 31 at 12:01am
Mark Wilson

Charlotte

I understand, Mark. But Mr. Charlotte is simply incapable of deceit! I was actually interested to hear how he got out. I picture something like this. · 41 minutes ago

Edited 35 minutes ago

Does Mr. Charlotte have access to a forklift?

Mark Wilson

Charlotte

Aaron Miller:

Charlotte: Mr. Charlotte achieved this parking miracle recently (he was so pleased with himself that he posted it on Facebook). 

I don't buy it. Only video evidence will be accepted. · 29 minutes ago

Funny, that's what I said to him. :-) · 1 minute ago

I agree with Aaron.  There's no way he could get the back wheels in with zero clearance in the front and rear.

Mark Wilson
genferei: Try this link (which worked for me). · 6 hours ago

I still get a pay wall.

Mark Wilson

Filibusters are for Democrats.

(Post Civil Rights-era, that is.)

Mark Wilson

It seems to be behind a paywall, unless I'm doing something wrong.

Mark Wilson

I got a 48, mainly because I scored low on the blue collar job-related questions.  And I've never lived outside a suburban area, but I have plenty of friends and relatives who grew up on farms, including my parents.

Edited on Jan. 28 at 7:21pm

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